The Senate defeated dueling proposals Monday to raise the $5.15-an-hour minimum wage one backed by organized labor, the other salted with pro-business provisions in a day of skirmishing that reflected Republican gains in last fall's elections.

High-tech firms renewed their push on the Senate Tuesday to block an accounting rule that would force them to count stock options against their profits. Tech executives and workers met with two dozen senators who haven't signed a bill that would block the proposed rule change by the Financial Accounting Standards Board.